Zapateo ( en, shoe tapping) is a
dance form rooted in the Spanish
flamenco
Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura a ...
and before that, in the ancient cultural influences imported in to Europe by the
Gypsies
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
.
Zapateo, which later produced the more famous Malambos dance, arrived in South America from Spain around the year 1600 CE and was a favorite pastime of the
gaucho
A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Argentina, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, and the south of Chilean Patagonia. Gauchos became greatly admired and ...
(descendants of Spanish
conquistador
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, ...
es and aborigines) also known as the "South American cowboys", especially around the camp fires in the lonely stretches of the flatlands, known as the
Pampas
The Pampas (from the qu, pampa, meaning "plain") are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba; all of Uruguay; and Brazi ...
.
Malambos incorporating the zapateo, the art of percussive footwork rooted in Spanish Flamenco, was traditionally performed by men, as there was a severe shortage of women around those camp fires.
The dance movements include the cepillada (brushing - to graze the floor with the
sole of the foot
The sole is the bottom of the foot.
In humans the sole of the foot is anatomically referred to as the plantar aspect.
Structure
The glabrous skin on the sole of the foot lacks the hair and pigmentation found elsewhere on the body, and it has ...
), the repique (striking the floor with heel and spur), and floreos (decorative movements of the feet).
It was often used as a form of competition between two or more men. One man starts with an escobillado (softly brushing the floor with his foot), and then he proposes a "figure" or footwork passage to his competitor, and ends with a salute.
The other man copies the proposed figure, adding one that is more difficult, and then performs the salute.
When one of the men is unable to copy the other, the competition is finished, with the more proficient dancer the winner.
See also
*
Zapateado (Spain)
Zapateado is a style of dance and traditional music of Andalusian origins in metre , with lively movement, marked on two beats, the second being very stressed. The dance shows a gracious tapping. Humanists of 16th century affirmed that zapateado d ...
*
Zapateado (Mexico)
External links
World Arts West
{{Dance
Flamenco